State identifies highest, lowest-performing schools

Nineteen Macomb County schools ranked in the top 5 percent in Michigan for academic achievement under a new rating system adopted by the Michigan Department of Education.

The Michigan Department of Education released data Thursday that provides new measurements of student achievement on the state’s two assessment exams: the Michigan Education Assessment Program (MEAP) tests for students in grades K-8 and the American College Test for high school students.

According to the department, Reward Schools include the top 5 percent on Top-to-Bottom rankings of all Michigan schools and the top 5 percent of buildings that made the greatest academic progress over the previous four years.

“We applaud the hard work and achievement of the educators and students in our Reward Schools because they zeroed in on improving learning,” said Mike Flanagan, state superintendent of public instruction.

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“We need to instill that goal in so many more schools in order to help all kids be career- and college-ready and successful in life.”

One school, Fitzgerald High School, made the Reward list after previously being listed as a “persistently low achieving” school under state standards.

“This confirms that setting high expectations, communicating those expectations to parents and students and quality, focused instruction does make a difference,” said Barbara VanSweden, Fitzgerald superintendent. “We are celebrating today but realize that the work continues so that all Fitzgerald students are successful in the classroom and are prepared to attend college and pursue a career.”

The new rating system was established after Michigan was granted a waiver from meeting all the guidelines of the federal No Child Left Behind Act.

The system includes two other categories called Focus and Priority schools. Focus schools are identified for having wide achievement gaps from the highest- to lowest-performing students. Priority schools are those that rank in the bottom 5 percent or have a graduation rate of less than 60 percent for three consecutive years.

The five county schools designated as Priority Schools East Detroit High School (East Detroit), Mount Clemens High School and three facilities for special needs students operated by the Macomb Intermediate School District: Bozymowski Center, Glen H. Peters School and Maple Lane School.

Two dozen Macomb County schools landed in a third new category called Focus Schools. These schools were designated because of significant gaps between the highest- and lowest-achieving students.

The primary task facing the Focus schools is raising the level of the lesser-achieving students, said the MISD’s Pritchett.

“Those kids need to be identified and those schools need to address that gap,” said Judith Pritchett, chief academic officer for the MISD. “The intent is not to meet in the middle; the intent is to bring the bottom up.”

With six schools on the Reward list while seven earned Focus designation, Utica Community Schools’ experience reflected the highs and lows of the new rating system.

“Our focus in Utica Community Schools has not changed,” said Christine Johns, superintendent. “We’re going to continue to focus on all kids and getting them ready for college and careers.”

Johns said the achievement gap is an issue district officials have confronted and they’ll continue to address it in the wake of the state report.

“The challenge is we have some youngsters in the bottom 30 percent and we have some work to do,” she said.

The Michigan Department of Education also released school grades as well as details on which schools made Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) under the federal No Child Left Behind initiative.

On an A-B-C-D letter-grade system, three schools earned A’s, 61 posted B’s, 123 were awarded C’s and 10 received D’s. For various reasons, 31 schools did not receive a grade.

Additional information on the Michigan Department of Education report is available online. Reward School information can be found at www.mi.gov/rewardschools; Focus School information is available at www.mi.gov/focusschools; Priority School information is at www.mi.gov/priorityschools; and Top to Bottom ranking information is at www.mi.gov/ttb.